Heads/Cam swap info?

Bolt On John

Founding Member
Jun 7, 2000
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16
Brookeville, MD
I'm really thinkin it's about damn time I swapped my stock heads and cam. I've already decided (for $ reasons) that I'm going with ported E7's, and I'm thinking of either an FMS E or B cam, but I would like to stay emissions-legal. I live in MD and I have to take an emissions test every few years. I barely passed with my current mods. The "E" cam claims it is still emissions legal, and the "B" didn't say, am I to assume this means the "E" is the only FMS cam I can get that is emissions legal? Are there other good emissions-legal cams that will work with my setup + ported E7's that I should be looking at?

Also, are ported E7's going to kill my hopes of being emissions legal anyway? I know this depends on how they are ported, but let's take the Thumper E7's for example. I know he removes the EGR bump, does that kill emissions? If so, will changing the cam to an aftermarket emissions-legal cam alone do much with my mods?

And last, but not least, does anyone know where some good head/cam swap step-by-step articles are? I've never done the swap before, and have mild mechanical skills, and I'm looking for some instructions/advice from those who have done it many times.
 
The e cam is the only alphabet cam that is emissions legal.

As far as whether ported heads are emissions legal I really don't know so I won't speculate one way or the other.


As far as a good swap instructions, I would get a Haynes or Chilton's manual at your local auto parts store. They give pretty detailed instructions and all of the other relevant info such as torque specs.
 
Thanks. I do have both the Haynes and Chiltons manuals, but sometimes I don't understand what they are saying, and I like to see advice from fellow stangers who have done it many times before and have picked up a few tricks that aren't in the books. I guess what I assumed about the E cam is correct, and this makes me wonder about the emissions-legality of ported heads. Anyone know for sure?